Numerical simulation of thermoplastic wheat starch injection molding process

A numerical study is carried out on the thermoplastic wheat starch injection molding process. The simulation is performed using currently available molding software to determine optimal molding parameters. The molding of a standardized sample for tensile test is considered. It is shown that the conventional continuum mechanics equations can be used for modeling the injection molding of thermoplastic starch. These equations are solved using the finite element method. Comparisons with some experimental results are presented, indicating good agreement. Data on the processing of thermoplastic starch and several other basic aspects are also provided.